High-power blue laser at LPT
A few weeks ago, a high-power blue laser (P = 4 kW, λ = 445 nm) from Laserline was successfully installed at the Institute of Photonic Technologies. This system will be used to investigate the relationships between laser wavelength and process characteristics for e.g., the laser welding of copper. As a result, we now have the possibility of imaging all central wavelengths (blue, green, infrared) in the field of high-power lasers at our institute. The delivery also included various optics (scanner, fixed and hybrid optics), which provide the overall system with additional flexibility for research in the field of laser material processing.
With the different optics, beam diameters between 250 µm and 1.7 mm can be imaged on the workpiece’s surface. This makes it possible to explore the potential of blue laser radiation for both laser beam welding (small beam diameters) and laser metal deposition (large beam diameters). The scanner optics can be used to image beam diameters of around 700 µm. Due to the large number of optical components supplied and the high modularity of the processing optics, we can cover a wide range of requirements. If the 4 kW output power of the blue laser system is not sufficient, the hybrid optics enable infrared and blue laser radiation to be superimposed. This allows the weld pool to be stabilized (blue laser) and at the same time a locally greater welding depth (infrared laser) to be achieved in the base material.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the DFG (German Research Foundation) for funding this infrastructure measure! We are already looking forward to a large number of exciting research projects with the funded large-scale equipment.
Do you have potential questions or research ideas relating to material processing with blue laser radiation? Then please contact Dr.-Ing. Dominic Bartels.